Snowman Soup 2
by Fairylust
Summary: Crona's first Christmas with his friends is a pleasant one, especially when he gets to spend some quality time with Maka.


**Note: I will apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar errors, seeing as I was a bit sleep deprived and on a sugar high while I wrote this down. I edited it today and hope it is satisfactory.**

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Crona snuggled his pillow tightly, hiding in the corner of his new bedroom. It had been a few weeks since Maka and the others had managed to successfully persuad him into getting his own apartment, but he had adjusted pretty well. A few moments ago, she had been looking out the window, noticing how a lot of people began to flock outdoors to watch as snow suddenly started to fall from the multitude of gloomy clouds that had been floating around the sky for a couple of days now.

He'd been curious and went out to watch the snow fall, too, but was promptly scared when a group of small girls came running by pushing and shoving and yelling, causing him to shout in surprised terror and bolt back up to the safety of his apartment.

Confused and shaking, as he watched the snow fall from his place in the corner, Crona gave a small squeak of unease, feeling Ragnarok as he appeared to perch atop his meister's head, curiosity evident in his expression. "Hey, Crona, what're you sitting here like a depressed emo for?" he asked, poking Crona in the cheek. "Get your ass out there! Or did you already forget about the party?"

Gasping, Crona realized that he had forgotten about Maka's party. He gave a panicked cry as he got to his feet, scrambling to his closet to look for clothes while his weapon partner called him an idiot and berated him for being so lazy and forgetful.

Throwing on the formal white clothes he'd bought while shopping with Liz and Patty he checked the time and double checked the invitation he'd gotten in the mail approximately two days ago.

He gathered up the things he was told to bring, stuffing them in an old backpack that he couldn't bring himself to part with and then headed out, nervous and jumpy as he ran down the street, avoiding crowds and people as he hurried along, screaming as he narrowly avoided getting ran down by some kids on sleds.

Crona gave a nervous glance to the neat looking table, which held all the gifts he and his friends brought. It wasn't a large party and that made him feel more comfortable, especially since it only consisted of Maka, Soul, Kid, Liz, Patty, Black*Star, Tsubaki, and Blair. Crona would have been okay if Black*Star and Blair weren't present, but found himself okay so long as he stuck near someone like Soul...or Maka. The party was held at her and Soul's apartment and had a bunch of yummy snacks and drinks. Soft jazz notes filled the room from a record player Soul had set up and everyone was socializing. Crona supposed he was doing pretty well since he had yet dove into a corner or yet panicked.

So far so good.

He added to some conversations and answered questions, and he near about passed out upon realizing that he was even voicing some of his own opinions, amusing his friends.

The pink-haired boy was quite proud of himself even when Ragnarok popped up he found himself dealing with it pretty well, either responding to his weapon or softly apologizing for something Ragnarok did that wasn't considered acceptable to his friends, namely stealing their food or calling them names. Tsubaki seemed to handle it better than everyone else, but then again, Crona knew Ragnarok liked her better than he did a lot of the others seeing as she was such a good cook.

"You think you could hold her in or something?" Soul whispered to Crona at one point after the weapon had retreated back into the young meister. "It's not that he's annoying so much as it's that we hate him."

"Sorry," Crona mumbled, eyes downcast, "but I can't do anything about him."

"Soul, don't be mean." Maka chastised, despite how she, too, was getting very annoyed with the dark weapon. She just didn't like seeing Crona so unhappy and for some reason she couldn't understand Crona seemed to actually like his weapon on some level, which was understandable, but still...it didn't change the fact the rest of them really hated that little blob.

That fact aside, Maka was willing to get Soul off Crona's back since his weapon already occupied that particular spot. "It's Christmas, which means you should be tolerate of others."

"But-"

"Don't make me Maka Chop you. It's Christmas, Crona's _first _Christmas with us, and I don't want him to remember it being sad and violent."

"Yeah," Soul sighed, knowing his meister had a bit of a thing for the pink-haired boy, "whatever you say, Maka. But you owe me later." With that being said, the white-haired weapon stalked off to go talk with Black*Star, but not before giving his meister a quick, subtle wink as she stood close to the other meister who seemed quite disheartened. Scowling and blushing, Maka ignored Soul, turning to Crona with an apologetic look.

"Sorry if he upset you."

"N-no, it's my fault. I should probably try to stand up to Ragnarok more often."

"You don't have to," Maka said, knowing that the weapon would most likely hurt Crona if he did that. "You're fine dealing with him as you always do. It doesn't matter what Soul or anyone else thinks, okay?"

"Don't you hate him too?"

"Well, hate is a...very, very strong word..."

"But you do, don't you?"

"Err..." she wasn't too sure how to reply, having already given the speech about tolerating others and all, but she really didn't want to lie to Crona. And so, Maka found herself caught in a rather painful situation. Luckily, that was when Patty and Black*Star announced that they wanted to start opening presents, providing the perfect distraction for Maka to use to her advantage.

"Let's go see who gets what. Oh, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of gifts for you, too, Crona."

"No kidding?" the boy gasped, seeming quite stunned to hear this. "Do you really mean it, Maka?"

The blonde meister chuckled at his expression, nodding.

"Why?"

"Because you're our friend." she said, smiling softly at the boy who flushed and looked down as his face heated up, not sure how to deal with Maka smiling at him like she was. "And," Maka went on to explain, "Christmas is about love, giving, and sharing what you have with others. Out of us all, you have the least so naturally me and the others got together and we-"

"Oh, Maka!" he fretted, watching as Patty, Soul, and Black*Star tore through their gifts. "N-nobody had to get me anything! I'm happy just being here with you guys! Really!"

"I know," Maka giggled, "but we thought-"

"Hey," Black*Star shouted from where he sat, wrapping a brand new black scarf around his neck, "are you guys just gonna stand there talking all day about nothing or are you gonna open your presents?!"

Glaring at the blue-haired ninja, Maka gave a sigh, relenting and going over to the small pile of remaining gifts. Kid and Liz had already taken theirs and were taking their time or struggling to open them. Maka glanced over to see Crona sitting with a little pile of gifts, seeming quite relieved and content, despite how everyone else seemed to have much larger presents. It sort of made Maka feel bad, especially when she noticed the little gifts amongst all her larger ones.

It was from Crona.

Naturally, she would have opened Soul's first, but this year was different and without hesitation she tore it open, gasping upon seeing the cover of the newest Rudy Stone book. It was a fictional series that was purely fantasy with elves and the like all working together to stop an evil sorcerer from taking over their world. The action, adventure, and romance had gotten Maka hooked. There was also humor and some scary parts, but they were just an added bonus. She'd started reading a couple weeks ago and had been dying to know what happened next since their school library didn't hold that particular book, but she didn't think she'd mentioned her love for the series or desire to read the next one to Crona.

She thought about what she'd gotten him...a stuffed animal...it just didn't compare.

Glancing back to him, Maka saw he'd opened his present and was staring at the little stuffed rabbit with wide, amazed orbs before he snuggled it against his chest, blushing and seeming to have fallen in love with the little toy. Maka sighed, somewhat saddened that she didn't get Crona something better, but...she smiled and felt contented...knowing that Crona loved it. His other gifts were small and similar, being either a toy of some sort, knick-knack, or an article of clothing.

He loved it all and thanked everyone, being very grateful for it all, which was great, but also sort of depressing seeing as it shown just how much his mother had neglected him, even failing to give Crona one decent Birthday or Christmas gift.

Once all the gifts were opened and the wrapping paper cleaned up everyone started to say their good-byes and departed to go elsewhere, either home or some other residency for a holiday visit. Crona stayed over with Maka to help her clean up, whilst Soul made himself scarce to hang out with Kid and Black*Star, giving his meister some alone time with her little crush.

Sitting on the couch after having finally gotten everything cleaned up and put away and having made them some hot snowman soup Maka sighed, gazing at Crona with kind, adoring dark green hues that went unnoticed by the pink-haired boy as he lifted up his cup. Crona sniffed at the steamy drink for a moment, and then tried to take a sip only to squeak when his lips met heated liquid.

"Careful," Maka chuckled, helping him set it down without sloshing it out everywhere. She then had him turn to face her so she could inspect the damage, which wasn't really that bad though his lips were now pinkened and slightly swollen from the heat.

It was something he'd easily recover from, but Maka couldn't help herself from thinking of other ways the boy's lips could become so wet and swollen, imagining them kissing beneath mistletoe or sharing a romantic kiss beneath the shade of a tree during a picnic.

She'd daydreamed and thought about all the possibilities, about all the different ways they could be together, but Maka never really planned on making any of those fantasies come true.

He was her friend and was just getting his legs when it came to social situations. What if her trying something ruined that progress? No, Maka couldn't allow herself to give into her feelings, no matter how strong they were, supposing it'd be a betrayal of his trust, not to mention her own moral code. In fact, Maka was absolutely determined to–

"Hey, umm, Maka?" the pink-haired meister mumbled softly, interuppting her thought process.

"Oh, uh," she sputtered, blushing, "yes, Crona?"

"Thank you for my gift. An-and thank you for inviting me."

"Oh. Yeah, no, it's no big deal."

"Yes, it is." he insisted, staring up at her with those handsome dark eyes of his. She couldn't resist his gaze, allowing her own dark green hues to linger and admire the boy's mysterious dark orbs. "I like you, Maka. You're always so kind to me and you've always been a really good friend even when I'm annoying. I-I guess what I mean is that you're a real great friend, Maka. Th-thank you, thank you so much."

"Crona, really, you're making too much of-"

"I c-could show you how much I like you."

"Huh? Wait, Crona what do you me-"

And that was when she felt his hands rest gently against the sides of her face and his lips met hers in one smooth, gentle motion. For one long moment, everything was bliss and Maka let her thoughts and worries fade away, and then without warning Crona pulled away, appearing somewhat panicked and rather concerned, perhaps even a little guilty as he began to fidget where he sat.

"D-did I do that right?" He questioned meekly, as he looked to her with a dark flush and eyes that were slowly tearing up as his fears of rejection grew with each silent second. "Or...no, you didn't want me to do that. Oh, now I've ruined everything! I'm so sorry, Maka! I didn't mean to mess it up! I just...please don't hate–mmmff!"

Pressing her lips to his, Maka was quite pleased when he responded, pressing back and holding onto her shoulders while she kept a hold of the boy's lean waist. Their kiss deepened and soon Maka found her hands wandering from his waist to...well...elsewhere, resting atop the other meister's thighs as a sudden curiosity struck her, wondering just how her friend would respond if she were to start touching him, but was startled from her thoughts as she realized just what she was thinking, realizing just where her hands were and how close their bodies had became.

_What am I doing?!_ the ash blonde girl wondered in alarm and mortification, as she removed her hands from his body and broke lip contact with Crona, who seemed caught between being dazed and confused.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing...I just...Crona why'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Why'd you kiss me?"

"Because," his voice whispered, as a soft smile crossed his soft features, "I love you, Maka. I wanted to _show _you that I loved you. I just...wanted you to know that."

"I do." Maka said, smiling back at him as she tenderly kissed his pallid face. He didn't resist, though tensed up, as she pulled back to nuzzle against his neck. He leaned into the action, giving a disappointed sigh when Maka moved away to face him again. "I know it better than you think and...I love you, too, Crona."

"You do?"

"Yes, I love you with all my heart."

His smile shook and he had to force himself to speak, worried as to what she'd say to his next inquiry, "Enough to l-let me be your...your boyfriend?"

Maka's breathing hitched for a moment, and then a broad smile came over her face, as she kissed and nuzzled her cute angel nodding and voicing her cheerful agreement, her voice and actions all filled with tender care and devoted love.

Crona beamed at that and his eyes glowed brighter than any Christmas light Maka had ever seen. Leaning in to peck her lips, he mumbled a faint, "Merry Christmas, Maka." before letting Maka nuzzle against him once more.

Chuckling, the blonde meister couldn't help but to agree, as she wrapped her arms around Crona in a hug and turned on the television to watch a Christmas special. Sitting there together, they continued to drink their snowman soup, enjoying it as well as the warmth of the heater, but most of all they enjoyed each other's embrace as they sat there, content and comfortable on the snowy Christmas day.

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**Merry Christmas everyone! I know that ending is clitche, but I thought it was pretty good! Plz no flames and if you would plz R&R.**

**Just think of this as a Chrismas gift from me to you.**

**:)**

**XD**

**~Sincerely, Fairylust~**


End file.
